Primary French, PGCE

Alongside the mainstream one-year PGCE primary programme, the University of Greenwich offer fifteen places on the PGCE Primary with French specialism programme. This programme trains graduates to teach the full primary curriculum and offer French as an additional subject. Students follow standard PGCE Primary programme and attend classes on the pedagogy of teaching a modern foreign language to younger children. In particular, the programme aims to train teachers for work in urban inner-city schools.

The University of Greenwich is part of the Primary Languages Teacher Training Project, a joint initiative of the Teacher Training Agency and the Ministère de l'Education Nationale. The university works with the Institut Universitaire de Formation des Maîtres (IUFM), Nord-Pas de Calais, a teacher training institution in Lille.

In January students spend four weeks teaching in a French primary school, in Lille, Douai or Arras. There are opportunities to meet French student teachers and explore northern France. Students are supported by their class teachers and by academic staff from the IUFM. A tutor from the University of Greenwich visits the students during the placement.

The Primary French programme is for graduates who already have a good command of spoken and written French. The minimum requirement for trainees going to France is Level B1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, so students should be around A-level standard or have spent time in a French-speaking country.

Please note that this programme is not intended for native French speakers. French nationals who would like to qualify to teach in UK primary schools are advised to apply for the PGCE Primary programme.

Aims of the programme
* To improve command of French, including the specific vocabulary required in the classroom
* To develop the understanding to teach the language in primary classes
* To gain experience of another system of primary education